Rescuing Ranu [Paperback]

Cheryl Snell (Author), Jennifer Kumar (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2009

After a power struggle at her university, math professor Nela Sambashivan returns to her native India to think. She is drawn, instead, into the lives of ten year old Ranu, the cunning motel-keeper who exploits her, and an unscrupulous Uncle who believes that everything is for sale. Nela's transformation from abstract thinker to selfless guardian begins when she and her lover rescue Ranu from a forced marriage, but only when the child unexpectedly fails to thrive does Nela confront her miscalculations about sacrifice, survival, and the mysterious alchemy of love.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cheryl Snell's other books include a debut novel, Shiva's Arms (The Writer's Lair Books), and eight collections of stories and poetry.

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace; 1st edition (April 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 144213254X
• ISBN-13: 978-1442132542
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,716,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cheryl Snell's books include novels and poetry. Published widely online and in print, she won the Lopside Press competition for Prisoner's Dilemma, and has had work included in the Best of the Net Anthology. A multiple Pushcart Prize nominee, Cheryl collaborates with expressionist artist Janet Snell on chapbooks for Scattered Light Library.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful blending of culture, symbol and plot, December 16, 2010

By 

S. Deeth "Sheila Deeth" (OR, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rescuing Ranu (Paperback)

"How can we tell whether a bird is being chased or leading?" asks Nela, trying to analyze the motion she sees in the sky. Author Cheryl Snell leads her readers to view the world through different eyes in this intricate novel, Rescuing Ranu, and her story is a delight to follow.

Flying home from India, Nela sits next to a westerner on the plane and muses on math and the importance of seeing someone's eyes. Sitting together in a car, two mathematicians smile, "You iterate and I converge." Mathematician that I am, I'm hooked. But lyrical descriptions of Indian tradition are equally enticing, and pages pass in a fire-fly dance of otherness, belonging and story.

The author conveys the passion of mathematical mystery just as beautifully as that of love, and opens the worlds of university, India and mathematics to delightful scrutiny. But Jackson and Nela don't just come from different geographical places. The mystery of family ties and separation fuel their relationship too, and Nela's relationships with her future, job and students.

Particularly impressive is the author's ability to include Indian words and concepts without need for obvious explanation. Images flow naturally and vividly with powerful emotions. The scene shifts; one leads, one follows, and in India little Ranu flits, sometimes young, sometimes old, on a path that skirts disaster. Perhaps love plots the turning shape of the graph.

In the end, a story that starts on one part of a circle ends on another, but the circle's the same, unbroken despite the distance it lies across. Nela completes her best work, and hope and story survive. Lyrical in scope, in symbolism, and in plot, Rescuing Ranu is like making sense of mystery without all the answers; a novel that feels balanced, right and new, with a delightful sense of the old.

Disclosure: Rescuing Ranu was offered as a free download for a short period in September, and I was delighted to acquire another of Cheryl Snell's books.

5.0 out of 5 stars Sacrifice, Survival, and the Mysterious Alchemy of Love, August 18, 2010

By 

janet - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rescuing Ranu (Paperback)

This story is well written. I found myself at the end of the story before I knew it. This is one hallmark of a good tale - I didn't have to "get into" the story, I felt that I was engaged to the tale from the first page. The author did a good job of simply and directly narrating the action. In some way, the writing seems "eastern" in nature, which adds to the subject matter.

The use of an Indian heroine is very clever. It allows for a clash-of-cultures sort of love story, and adds poignancy to the question of what sacrifice means to the characters.Shiva's Arms